Brandon LaFell taking Twitter sabbatical after quarterback comments

Posted by Josh Alper on March 20, 2014, 8:58 AM EDT

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Patriots wide receiver Brandon LaFell said Wednesday that he signed with the Patriots because he wanted to play with a “Hall of Fame quarterback” and that Cam Newton, who threw passes to LaFell in Carolina, is not “there now.”

LaFell’s words were hard to argue with given where Tom Brady and Newton are in their respective careers, but they were not met kindly by Panthers fans all the same. On Twitter, LaFell heard from those who thought he was out of line as well as those who pointed out that things might have gone differently for LaFell, Newton and the Panthers if LaFell held onto more balls thrown his way.

“U right Cam didn’t make me drop balls nor did I say he did. So please continue on with your day thank you,” LaFell wrote.

LaFell then retweeted or replied to a few supportive comments, sent out a “Go Pats” and then announced that he’d be dropping off of Twitter for a month. We’re likely to survive until April, although we appreciate that LaFell offered an honest answer to the question about what led him to New England.

It is an honest assessment of Cam Newton. He has great skills, but will never win a Championship. Especially not now. They went deep in the playoffs off some luck and a great D. Their team has fallen apart now.

Brandon LaFAIL. You had more than enough time to make an impact in Carolina and earn that second contract. Yet you did nothing. Now you are running your mouth? Are you even a lock for a roster spot in NE?

Well what Lafell said is all true. Brady is a first ballot hall of fame lock and Newton isn’t anywhere near Brady’s level. The Patriots are a winning organization year in and year out and the Panthers aren’t.

I’d caution Panthers fans from jerring Lafell too much. Brady has taken a lot of worse talents than him to the brink of a championship while making them look a lot better than they really are.

So he basically said Tom Brady is – at this time – more of lock for the hall of fame than Cam Newton is. ???? Isn’t he? I’d say there are at least 30 QB’s in the NFL (P. Manning obviously excluded) we could say that about compared to Tom Brady…..

To LaFell’s defense he made the toughest catch of the season vs. the Jets. Let’s not turn against someone who played good for most of the season. For the negative commentators on here, grow up! Be objective and mature not juvenile and emotional. We had a great season last year and I personally wish LaFell the best in NE. Stop taking things out of context and putting words in his mouth.

There was nothing wrong with the words LaFell used. The message behind the words was what wa upsetting. There was an insinuation that LaFell moved from Carolina to New England completely of his own doing, that he chose to leave Carolina and specifically wanted to be in New England because there is a sure-thing Hall of Fame QB there. But that’s not exactly how it went down. LaFell might have wanted to go to New England, but at the same time, the Panthers did not intend to keep him. His accomplishments were modest and work produced inconsistent results. It’s like a person who gets fired from a job and then tells everyone that he quit.

LaFell wanted to be with a Hall of Fame QB? That’s fine. This is a free country, so go work where you want to and earn as much money as you can. But don’t think of yourself more highly than you ought.

I have some football basics for you — Cam and Tom are never on the field going against each other. Tom goes against the other teams defense. Cam is on offense and goes against the other teams defense also. Glad to have new fans to the sport though.